Lidl supermarket has been ordered to pay over £17,000 after South Gloucestershire Council prosecuted them for receiving out of hours deliveries in breach of planning conditions.
Appearing at Bristol Magistrates Court on Monday 17 March, Lidl pleaded guilty to breaching the planning conditions which state times where deliveries can be accepted at the store, which are in place to protect nearby residents. They were fined £14,500 and ordered to pay a £2,000 victim surcharge and the council’s costs of £973.66, making a total of £17,473.66.
The court heard that South Gloucestershire Council’s Planning Enforcement team first received a complaint in May 2024 relating to deliveries to the Lidl store on Halls Road in Kingswood. The store was receiving deliveries at anti-social hours both late at night and early morning, causing disturbance to nearby households, which was in breach of their delivery hours conditioned to the planning permission granted to build the store.
The store was contacted by council officers and advised to stick within their conditioned hours, however investigators found that they continued to breach these and receive deliveries at all hours.
A Breach of Condition Notice was then issued to ensure that the conditioned delivery hours were adhered to. However, the council found that deliveries were still being made early on a Sunday morning, outside of the conditioned hours, so a prosecution case was progressed.
Councillor Sean Rhodes, cabinet member responsible for environmental enforcement at South Gloucestershire Council, said: “I’m delighted to see the courts find the supermarket guilty of making out of hours deliveries. Conditions attached to planning consent are there for a reason, and when they are ignored, we will take enforcement action.
“Deliveries taking place late at night and early in the morning can be very disruptive for nearby residents, so I’m really pleased that we’ve been able to bring this prosecution and ensure the supermarket meets its obligations.”
Breaches can be reported via the South Gloucestershire Council website at www.southglos.gov.uk/report email plannigenforcement@southglos.gov.uk or if the breach relates to an urgent matter such as damage which puts a listed building at risk by phone on 01454 868004.
